


The Week of the Owls

by orphan_account



Series: Batman: Multiverse [9]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Superman/Batman (Comics), Wonder Woman (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Body Horror, Court of Owls, Dehydration, Dick Grayson is Batman, Execution, F/F, Horror, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Missing Persons, Missing in Action, Night of the Owls, Owls, Psychological Horror, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Sieges, Starvation, Survival Horror, Tim Drake is Red Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-12 22:14:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20571770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Batman is abducted by the Court of Owls, leaving Gotham at their mercy.





	1. Day 1

Batman stared intently at the bat computer. It was a file on Samantha Vanaver and Nia Poland, detailing their immortality, as they had pictures as far back as the early 1800s.

"Online dating, sir?" Alfred snarked as he stood beside Batman?

"Not funny, Alfred," Batman said. "Ever since the Gala, Samantha and Nia have been held at the Arkham Asylum, having convinced the courts they were insane by telling them what they told me."

"Talk about using the truth to your advantage," Alfred said. "If they're locked up, why are you informing yourself about them."

"It's Arkham, Alfred," Batman noted, bitterly. "The Joker and many of my other enemies wouldn't claims so many victims if they could keep them locked up, and you think they can keep the heads of an secret society that is single handedly responsible for the corruption that plagues this city in containment?"

"Excellent point, sir," Alfred said.

"I've been paranoid, lately," Batman admitted. "I've been checking Arkham's security footage on an hourly basis, making sure that not a single hair is out of place."

"Your paranoia fixes as many problems as it causes, sir," Alfred said. "Though I believe it comes from the right place, this time."

"Thanks for agreeing," Batman said, gratefully. "On the subject of my paranoia..." he pressed a button. "Computer, bring Arkham Security footage."

"Yes, Mr. Wayne," the computer said, bringing up the security footage.

Batman narrowed his eyes, taking in every camera on the screen.

"Well, things look to be-" Alfred began.

"No...look!" Batman pointed to a camer in the bottom left hand corner of the bat computer, showing a guard placing down his coffee cup and then working on his computer.

"What, Mr. Stevens is working all week," Alfred said.

"Yes, but Stevens did the exact same action with his coffee cup four days ago," Batman said. "This footage is being replayed."

"Sir, you can't be serious," Alfred said, exasperated. "This has got to be a whole new level of paranoia."

"Tust me, Alfred," Batman said, getting out of his chair and making his way over to the bat mobile. "I know what I'm doing."

"Are you sure about that?" Alfred asked, sarcastically. "How do you Mr. Stevens isn't just getting another cup of coffee?"

"I'll buy him one if I'm wrong." Batman jumped into the Bat mobile. "Keep in touch."

"Of course, sir." Alfred put on a headset, cracked his knuckles, and took a seat in front of the Bat computer. "I want to make sure the first thing you hear after wasting your time at Arkham is a hardy 'I told you so'."

* * *

Batman drove through the gates at Arkham Asylum, and stopped the car in front of the gothic madhouse. Jumping out of the car, he made his way over to the door.

"Sir, do you hear that?" Alfred asked.

"I don't hear anything, Alfred," Batman said, making his way over to the front of the building.

"Exactly, no screams, no alarms, nothing!" Alfred exclaimed. "Can you please come back and let me feed you, you haven't eaten in-"

Batman walked through the door to the office portion of the building, and found the receptionist with her throat slit.

Alfred, who was watching through the camera in Batman's cowl, cut himself off. "Oh my God."

Batman knelt down next to the woman's body, and expected the wound. "Deep cut, blood still pooling out, this poor woman was killed a few minutes before I left the cave."

"You should probably check it out," Alfred said, still stunned.

"I intend to," Batman said.

As Batman began to make his way through the Asylum, he found the bodies of guards littering every hallway. The men had fought, and Batman found just as many dead Talons as he did guards.

"Sir...those assassins," Alfred said, noticing the resemblance the Talons beard to the one that attacked Wayne Tower.

"I know, Alfred." Batman turned the corner into cell block, and found Samantha and Nia's cell, empty. "I know."

"What do we do?" Alfred asked.

"Put out an anonymous call to Gordon, let him know what's happened," Batman ordered, turning and making his way out of the building. "I want you to put out any Amber Alerts for girls under the age of ten. Samantha and Nia's age range for girls somewhere between 5-9 years old."

"God, do they-" Alfred began.

"Yes Alfred, they do," Batman said. "Keep me posted, I want-" he stopped when the bat mobile opened, and he found the body of a little girl in the driver's seat. "Alfred..."

"I see...I see it, sir," Alfred said, voice dead. "I sent the call to Gordon, and I'm checking the Amber Alert now."

Batman wordlessly took the girl's body out of his car. In his long career as a crime fighter, Batman has seen the ugly side of humanity, but even he wasn't ready for a play this dirty. She was in a state of undress, and Batman took off his cape and wrapped her body in it. He sat there, just staring in shock at the girl's Boyd as Gordon and a squad rolled in.

"Jesus..." Gordon said.

"I found her in my car's driver seat," Batman said, voice hollow.

"Batman...are you okay?" Gordon asked.

"The people in the Asylum are dead...don't know how many survived," Batman didn't answer Gordon's question. "Samantha Vanaver and Nia Poland are free, they did this."

"Gordon, we got over a dozen bodies in the first freakin hallway alone!" Bullock came storming up to them. "Hey freak, what the Hell..." he trailed off when he saw the little girl in Batman's cape. "No..."

"Yiu seen this girl, Bullock?" Gordon asked.

"That's...oh God...that's Sandra Bullock...that's my niece, sir," Bullock said.

"Sir, Sandra Bullock and a bus of her peers was hijacked on the way to Gotham Elementary," Alfred said.

"I had heard about that, I was investigating..." Batman said.

"Oh, so where were you?!" Bullock shouted, pushing Batman away from Sandra's body. "World's greatest dectective couldn't find a bus full of missing girls?!"

"Lieutenant, please." Gordon placed a hand on Bullock's shoulder. "I know you're hurting, but the last thing we need is to turn on each other."

Bullock said nothing, he just snatched his shoulder from Gordon's hand, and picked up Sandra's body.

"You need your cape?" Gordon asked.

"I have another one in the car," Batman said, solemnly. "She doesn't...she doesn't deserve to lose more..."

"Batman, about those girls-" before Gordon could continue, the jingle of Arkham's intercoms went off.

“̵̙̭̼̱͊̅̈͌̽̏G̴̞̠̬͉̅̀͒̊o̵̧̠̟̜̠͐̒̄̆͛͝ǫ̵̧̟̺̥̻̀̽͒ḑ̷͔̥̦̆̿ ̷̙̲̬̮͑̊ͅȩ̶͙̏͌v̷̘̪͉͙̮͌́̃͂ͅę̸̧̳̯͚̩͆n̸͖̟̄͐͊i̷̯̥̬̫̐̾̂̂͘͠n̸̨̥̞͙̂̿̓̾͠͝g̷̦̟̘̏,̷̗̣̍̈́ ̴͎̟̩͎̂̽͘B̷̥̲̙̐̄̎͋̚͜a̵̙̍͌̊͒̚t̴͎͓̯̲͉̭͆̎͆͝m̴̼̙̲̫̈́̅̕͝͠a̵̫͙̹̲͎͒̆͗̈́̇ǹ̴̡͍̌̑͠.̴͕͍͇̞̫͑͝ͅ”̸̱̼͈̯̖͍̿͆̒̎

Samantha somehow corrupted the intercom, making her voice sound inhuman and demonic.

Ï̸̛͓̦͒͝ ̸̡̯̰̘̺̍̈́h̸̪͔̟̫͌̏̓͛ô̸͈̦̑p̷̢̠͔̪̑̊e̵̲̩͔̙͍̳̋̊̽ ̸͔̏y̶̢͖̫͍̫̆o̸̢̭̖̹̺̗͂̄̈̀ṵ̸̯̳̟͑̓̄͗̄̊ͅ ̷͍̎͋̈e̶̢̯̞͈̦̲͆̑͛̀n̴͇̻̊͌͛͠j̵̞͎̥͌̎͂ọ̸͖̱̯̱̐̊̑̂̂͝y̶̖̽͌ȇ̶̩̦͚͜d̵̳͎̏̀̓̃̀ ̸̲͓͍̪̦̀̀̐̉̕ő̵͙̞͎̋̈́̆͗͝ú̷̳̼̜̳ŗ̶̡͇̖̈́̏̒ ̶̙̾̿͗͋͜͝ͅl̶̢̝̬͉̠̈̊i̴̦͇͔̭͈͑̇ͅt̸͕̉̈̒͠ţ̵̘͆̈́̈l̴̮̈̍̕e̴̺̖͌̊̾̄ ̵̳͓͖͔̒͊̆̏̕ś̵̛̟̝̻̂̆͠ḧ̶̻o̸̰̪̤̜͂̏ẁ̶͇̮̝͂̽͂̎̇,̸͇̬͌͝ ̴͕͎͙͔͎̋̿͜b̸̘̩̩͈̈́͑̓̃̎e̶̖͔͖̬̯̅͛́͐͝c̴̪̉ǎ̸̫̟̻͖̈́̿̀̌̐u̸̢̻̫̒̉͂͂̓͘s̵͇̾̾͂͆e̶̼͈̊̍̉͘͠ ̵̦̠̳̈́̽͗̈́̽n̸̛̤̝̉͑̍͊ǫ̸̦̗̹́̎͊̆ẃ̸̻̖͉̋̈̆ ̶̨̏̿̅͒͋ẇ̷͍̝̘͕̲̱̿̽̃̎̀ȩ̷̥̖̭͔̰̓̀’̵̤͎̤̰̪̿̽̿̃͋͝r̶̭̙̦̫̬͒̂̚ę̵̙͙̖̌͋͋̽͝ ̶̲̦̩̫͚̿g̵̹̦̜̓̐͑̓̄ͅo̵͛̏͂͜í̷͔̱̲̮͔̒̿̚ͅn̵̞̐̾g̶̨̘̖̀̅ ̷̦͓͖͐̀͘t̶̨̡̘̙̑̀̆̈͌͐o̵̟͌͝ ̴̮͉̬̞͖̈́͜p̸͇͔̿̆́͌l̷̨̺̦̳̇̒̽̀a̴̧͍͇̾̑̏̂y̷͖̭͑.̵̖̻̦̻̝͖̍̽̈̑̇͘ ̵̻̍̿C̷̨̹͑̉͛͗̚ǫ̴͔̈̄̅͗͆̏m̶̧͓̘͂e̶̺̼̺̽͆̋͑̈́̇ ̸̨̩̘̯͍̩̏̓̀t̸̩̟̠͒ơ̶͓͋͌̒̓ ̶̼͈̝̞̾t̶̼͔̝̆̈͛h̴̢̹͔͕̠̀̑͠ę̷̏͋ ̴̡̢̦̝͚̠͋̎̈́͗Ş̸̗̞̺́̚ţ̶͈̬͌̈ȩ̴̦̱̰͕̺̈́e̶̼̦͆̊͘͘ͅͅl̷̮̚ ̵̧̥̬̫̰̳̎̓͌͛͘Ṃ̵͕̬̅̄̍̋͋͑i̴̹͕̍͌̋l̴̦̙̝͔͑̾̿l̶̖͌̈́͘̕͝͝,̴̩͎̒͊̈́̚ ̷̛̤͓̘̔́̆ͅo̷̹̰̩͊̍̿r̴̖̗͚̂̆̇͝ ̴̨̤͕̯̘̖̎t̶̟̻̥͉̀̓h̶̺̗̑̀͜ḛ̶̈͋͗̋ ̷̨̡̽̍̇͆͜͠ͅr̵̛̛͉̫̭̗͙̾͛̂e̶̦͍̠̾͆͗ͅŝ̶͍̺̮t̶̻͔̻́͋͊̅ ̸̼̚o̴̢̪̪̽̍͆f̶̰̋ ̸͕̲̠̎̿t̴̡̜̺͒ḫ̸͍̈́͑͂̓̃̂ͅĕ̸̡̒͐͘ ̷̙̽͜͝g̶̖̑̀̂i̸̡͔̠͔̳͎͂̌̉̏r̵̖̓̑̽͒͝l̸̨͕̆̏͋́̋͝s̷̫̖̤͒̇ ̸̡͚͉͚͚̽͐̋͝d̴̰̈́̓̍̓i̷̛̜̾̈́̀́e̵̢̦̩̋̊̾̅͠

“Alfred, did you get that?” Batman asked.

”Yes sir, sending you the quickest route to the Steel Mill, now,” Alfred said.

"I'll make them pay for this Gordon," Batman promised. "I swear to you."

”You’ll get them, Batman,” Gordon said with a nod. “I know you can take them down.”

Batman jumped into the Bat mobile, and sped off.

* * *

Batman arrived at the Steel Mill in seconds. There was a large white sheet hanging over the front of the abandoned building, and soon, Samantha’s smug face was being projected onto the sheet.

Ḩ̶̣̪̞͕͙̥̄̏̽̔̆̈́͛̕̕͝͠͝ͅͅȩ̶̞̲̘̮̺̬͈̻͙̬̏̓͛̋̿̏̆̓̎̆̚l̶̨̽͊̐̈́̾̋͛́͗̍͝l̸̢͕̼̱̺͔͈̭̊͜ͅố̶̞̻̠̱̼̒͝͝,̶̧̜̙͚͔̫̠͚͕̈́̏̆̂̎̋́́͐̈́̚͜ ̶̨̨̧̛̲͓͍̮̫͉̪͈̈́͛̒́͘ͅD̷̮̙͈̝̼̠͎͓͕̲̱̠͋͛̈́͝͝a̵̺̝͌̾̈́̃̓̾̕͜r̸̟̰̐̓͂͊̎͂̇͝k̵̛̖̥͍͔̀͊̐ ̷̢̪̳͔͖̭̱̀͒͒̒̏̆͗̈͘ͅK̷̨̻̮̘͒̽̏̌̿̈́͋͗̚͝͝n̶͈̭̟̙͔̭̪̱̬̟̊̈́́̇̓͋͋i̴̦̗̙͚̝̻͖̠̗̺̗̎̉̀̐͊̑̋͂͛͗̈́̓͛̆̚ͅğ̷̢̡̼̬̣̫͈̗̜̝͐͗̃͑̇̑̈́̓͐̅̕͘͠͝h̷̭͔̳͋͊̀̈͌̔̓͋̆̕̕͜t

“Where are the girls, Vanaver?!” Batman shouted.

P̶̟̹̳̺̩̣͇͚̯̪̈̒͆͊̈́͆͌̿̀̈̑̓͜a̷̢͕͔̦͚̙̝̫̯͍̤̎͛t̷̨̛̖̬̭̲̗̦̪̭̼̒̉i̶̧͎͎̓̌͆̀̄͌̓͗͌͜͝ë̶̺̟̼̝̗́͊̊͂͆̂͊͜͠ͅň̵̹̝͉̘̤͇̽c̷̙̋̓é̴͈̏͠ ̸̡͈̺̣͚̣̻͈̬͙̟̥̼͓̓͜į̶̢̦̫̪̙͔̲̦̮̻̰̩͗͛̎͐̄̍͛̔ͅs̴̨̱͙̜̪̘̤̘͓̞̀̃̓̑̌̇͗̏͋̒ͅ ̵̗̪͚̣͉̞͔̑̓̈́̇̍̅̀̇͜͝ͅa̶̲̙͍͖̦͔̗̦̮̭͑̂̈̂̀͜͝ ̵͕͋̈́̕v̵̢̡̜͔̙͚͉͇̑̈́̽̏̈́̔͌̚͠i̶̭͎̻̝̜̋r̴̗͇̄̾̆̈́͑̒̓̑̓̇͠t̶̢̥̙͇̹̮̘̉̐͋͌͐͒̒̔̏́̓̃ṵ̶̧̧͓̙̖̘̞̫̘̥̼̭̫̅͋̇̅͜͝e̷̡̢͉͇̫̣̭̹̳̣͓̦̖̬͌̇͆͐͌̿̕͘̕͠͝ͅ,̶̢̨̣̖̲͙̣̟͙̭̻̈́̀͊͆͘̕͝ ̵̢̢̯̪̪̠̪̬͍̘̓̌́̃̕D̴̡̥̫̣͎̠̤̜̜͈́́̐̓ȩ̷̹̺̻̳͚͓͈͕͆̒͊̔͠ͅt̵̖̓̅͂̃̄͂͊̈́̅e̸̛̹̭̥̯̗͆̓́͛̈́͝c̸̟͇͇̥̞͑̓̊̇́͂̈́̆̒̉͘͜͝t̸̢̤̲̫̻̩̩̤̯̘̰̦́̎̾́̽̐͛͗í̶̱̙̩̘̭̪͕̖̣̣̳͍͚̾ͅv̸̞̱̬̤̤̠̌͆͗̏͌͋̊̏̈́̈́̈̈̃͝e̸̗͚̟͇̳̟͖̞̼̩̞͔͓̽͛̃̕͠͝.̶̡̛̹̣̬̙̙̖̗͖͍͙̣̈́̅̿̃̄̂̊̉͋͘͜ ̷̡̨̗̯͕̥̟̪̲́̅͐͂H̸̭̭͖͚͍͂̀͒̑̅͒ă̸̮̮͉̺̥͕̜̣̘͖̪̯͖̘͇̑̑͛̀̓̿̐͛̈̅͝ṡ̸̤̪̝̞̲̉̄̓̈͑̓̎͂̾͝͝͝n̸̤̖̂̈́̈́̔̋͘͠’̸̡̖̅͋͊̐́̑̇͌̄̄̆̈́͋̎͝t̷̤̞̬̜̟͔̔͜ ̶̡̗̙̞͉̟̺̠͖̹̩̲͎̟͓̎̑̊̈̾̔̽̀̓̃̊ỵ̷̡͈͍̪͎̜̳͖̞̦̪͈̓͂͐̎͂̀̉̅͛̚̚͠͠͝ȭ̶̧̢͖̖͍̺̝̥̼̹̖̉̿ũ̵̼͕͓̝̱̟̮̣̗̮͎̬̭̈́̑͑r̸͚͌̈͘͝͝ ̸̡̖̣̬̖̱̪̪̯̥͇̦͊m̵̨̖͇̱̘͓͇͕̮̙̫̉͆̆̆̈́̔͜͠ǫ̴̪̣͕͉͇͙̩̯̠͓̬͍͌̏̄̅͒͆̌̅̚̚t̶̫̥͕͎̗͎̰̮͂h̷̘̙͇͙̪͍̭͉̙́̈̈̃͂͐́̍̅͊͝͝͝e̵̡̢͖͚͇͙̲̬̙̻̮͙̋̔͌͋̍͋̓̆̆́͗̈̕͠r̵̙͉̻̟̤̰̾̅͛ ̸̧͊̍̀̚e̸̢̝̞̭̪̜͎̻͖̦̹̹̺̹͗̐̿̾̈̇̽̕͘̕͘ͅv̶̧̙͓̘͕̬̰̰̱͙̺̺̈́́͌̂͜͜͜͠ȩ̴̥̞̦̿͂͘͝͝͝r̶̞̙͔̝̥̤͕̹̈́͋͘ ̶̧̢̯̻̞̥̜̯̥͙̗͓̯̱̣̆̅̽͒͑ţ̶̨̝̦̤̜̪̙̥̦̭͔͖͌̈͆͜ã̸̛͕̭͍̺̙̯̳̜͈̻̪͎̠͙̎͗͆̏̓̐̈̽̚͠͠ư̴̟̮͍̜̤͉̔́̈̐̊̍̇̈́̇̇g̷̢̢͓̮̘̺̤̼̩̔̾̋̇͜ͅḩ̴̣̤̳̹̳͙̩̮̓̒̈́̿̇̍̔͑͜͜͝t̶̡̻͚͍̭͇̯̩̳̼̳̦̗̊ ̸̓̐̇͋͆̓̂͘͜͝͝y̸̯̱͓̮̺̞̒̇̑̓̏̊̍̈͂͑͒͠͝ǫ̴̧̫͍̳̹̣͖̝̳̦̳͚̈͂̉͂̂͌̉̌͑͛̍̓̀̌̚ư̴̮̖͇̜͕̈́͌͋̃̽̈́̄̈́̏̕̚͠ ̷̦̰̺͑͌͝ť̸̛̫͈͙̠͓̞̠͓̬̙̤̼͈͍̀̔̎̿͌͐̽̑͗͝͝h̴̡̝͋͂̄̅͘ą̷̢͚̫͔̺͈̟̍̈͆̑͒̆̍̋́͂̊ţ̵̨̧̙̙̳̻̝͙͓̼͓̖̠̂͆̓͐̏ͅ?̶̨͚͍̘͓̬͉̰̳̀͛͗͆̇̇̀́̐͂̅̔ ̸̨̳͚̜̓̋̌̔̓̽̀̉̐͒͝͝͝Ǫ̷̘̰͉͉̰͓́̇̒̀̋̈́͌͑͝ṛ̶̗̠̫̫͛̆̒̈̈̽̍́̎ ̴̨̛͙͓̣̬͚̺̼͉̜̻̺̲̰̊̏̎͛́̆̅̓̈͘̕̕̚͠d̸̜͔̖̋̇͛̊̎̉͗̋̌̈́͠i̴̢̼̤̳̭̭̭̖͇͉̝͓̇̾̽́̀̆̇̅̀̉̈̾̌̅͂d̵̘̜̼̪̮͐̈́͛̈́̄͠ ̵̨̦̻̻̳͕̘͖̤̠̠̇̉̈́̐́̏̑̈́̉͘͝s̴̠̲͓̹̝̹͇͈̹̰̱͕͈̅̽̏h̸̡̲͙̻̗̰̖̣͎̫̍̈́͑e̷̡̛̤̳͙͓̻̪͍̩͗̾͛̊̋̆͜͝͝͝ ̶̠̳̲̦͍̜̲͐̀͒͑͆̾̚͝͝͠͝d̸̨̛̯̘͈̙̘͇̍͂͘͜i̵̗̥̼̮̣͔̳͒͜ě̴̻͈̝̤̬͔̆̽͆̌̊̎̏́͂͠ ̷̨̨̝̜́͂͋̂̄̀́̈́̀͂̎̐͆͝͠b̸̛̲̈́̂͋͊́͑̈͗ë̸͍͇̰̂̉̓̏͆͑̓͋͂̀̓̽̕͝f̵̡̡̙̰̱̘̮̦̘̞̳̋̅̍̄͂̾̿o̶͍̲͓͂r̸̨̤͈̆̃́͗̆͒̔͠e̷̘̟̞̰̹̬̭͈͠ ̴̡̳̞͎̹͇̤̯̞̺̿̊̆̃̔̇͐͘s̴͓̹͙̙̄̑͆̂̌̉̔͠h̷̹̖̩͚̮̖͇̹̳̉̔̉ê̵̢̛̲̳̰̘̯̠̱̼͚̞̞̥̓͛̽̍͗͛́̽̓̅̚ ̶̧̰̮͕̮̱̤͂̒̅̾̊̂̒̈̚̕ͅḑ̴̦̠̬͕̠̮̳̹̤̪̐̋̑̋̀̾̊͆̈̕͝i̸̢̧̹̲̖̻̞̳̫̹̩̣̭͆̅̾̈́̓̉̌͑̂͂̏̕̚͝͝ͅd̵̦͎͛̊̚?̷̱̗̲͉̙̋͜

“Where?!” Batman shouted.

C̸̡̨͍̱̳͕͍̚͜a̸̘̦͔̼̯̻͇̾̓͝l̵̮͚̿̈͠m̵̡͙͔͍̪̼͍̞͖̲̔͑̓ ̵̫͈̬̦͔͖̘̣̣͉̤̻̞͍̋̔̽̽̓͆̎ḋ̸̢̡̛̗̩̭̜̟̦̗͆̍̎̋͛̽̿͐̂̍̚ő̵̯̞͌̓̑͊͐̾̏̍̊͆͘͘͘͝w̸̧̜̮͕͐͗̓̔̎̎̆̋̉͂̋͐̚n̸̢̼̬̥̫͙̦̫̆͐̌͌̓́̉̓͑͘͜ͅ,̵̯̄ ̷̩͍̰̪̟͕̲̖̮̦͎̂͛̄͑̚͠͝ǫ̸̢͉͕̜̣̪̱̙̖̅̏͌̾͜͜ņ̵̛͕̳̦̮̞̒͋̈́̓͌̓͗̀̈́̏̕e̶̛͈̗̝̜̱͂̋̊̈́͂̏̅̀͛͛̕͘ ̵̖̘̖̞̤̫̪̦̙̰͕̀͑͂̈͗̃̔̽̊̒̊̒̚ͅo̵̫̠͈͎̖̖̝͓̼̜̯̿̆̓̓̅̎͆͂f̵̮̈̇̾͊̽̄̽̅́̓̈̑̀̍͂ ̷̩͇̪̩̤̻̙͝ͅt̵͎̄̇̚h̵̠̞̹͚̪͙͇͆̂̒̍͗̆̂̑̀̎̈͂̑͘e̸͓̭̰̱͆̌m̴̝̺͕̝̼̭̥͎̬̀̈́̏͜ ̶̦̹̻̘̰̝̼̩̪̓̈͂̌͒͂͗̽͑̊̈́ͅͅi̷̫̝͈̇̂̐͊͆́̓͐͒͛́͝s̶̰̯͖͕̬̠̩̀̔̈̽̃̑͐̄̉͆͂̽͒̚͝ͅ ̸̤͔͒̅̓̅͒̓̔̌̄̌̿͛̚͝r̴̢̡̛̲̟̘͔̳͇̳̈́̀̋͋̎̋̉̈͒̄̋̓̂̕ͅͅḭ̵͓̯͇̺͙̓̈́̕g̶͕͚̲̦̦͎͐̍͛̑̊͠h̷̨͇̟̬̞̐̀͗̄͊͑̑̈t̴̡̨̛͕̻̯̘̰̭͉͈͇̠̩̰ ̷̢̥̬͍̲̗̟͓̣̅͐̑̓́̃̃̉̈̓͑̚͘͝t̷̢̝͎̪͖͖͖͙̳̲̻͍̦̪͐̍̈́̍̈́̀̍̊h̵̨̢̝̫̲̗̉̀͝ŕ̴͔͑̂͂̍̍́̀̀̓́̚͠͠ò̴̤̲͈́̏̾̉̏̂̈͝͠ͅu̸̺̣̜̯̦̭̦̿̿̕͜ͅg̶̢̢̨͕̠̪͇͇̻̙͙͎̱̦̍͆̔̎́̅̔͜ĥ̴̭̪͉̼̚͜͝ ̶̧̛͚͙̼͔͔͚̗̪͙͛͛́͛̇̾͆͛̊͐̍̎͌͝ͅt̵̛͖͚̠̳̬̔͗͂̀̽͛̇̋̚͜ḩ̷̣̩͉̮͙̙͙̫̺̺̊͜͜i̴͇̣̩̟̻̬͇͚̥̲̟̫͋s̵͉̦̪̗̠̖̞̥̈́̽̑̀̾̑̆͌͑̕̚͘͝ ̵̢̛͎̘̜̞̞͈̺̰̭̯͔̭͖̍͐̈́̃͂̕ḑ̴͖͈͚̬͚͇͉̪̂͋͋͜ọ̶͎̻̠̞͔̜̯͖̻̩͖͖̊̏̊̿̈́̕ͅo̶̥̲̼̫͖͈͆̏̎͗̀̀̃̊͌́̈́͠r̷̛̬̥̤̥͙̆̽́͛̊̿̋̀͒̆̕͘͜͝͝.̴͚͈̪̭̘͖̼̹̪͇̬̼͙͔͍̅̑̋͌́̈́͋͆̈́͘͘ ̶̢̩͉͛̂̑̋̔̏͊̿̍̚̚͘L̶̢̞̖̼͎͗̆ę̷̲͉̓͗͋̒̔a̴͇̗̳͖̟̱̺̲̎̀̀̑͝͠v̵̠͓̩̫̯̪̟͉̭̆̅̐̿̾̕ḝ̴̢̯́͐̔͐̈́̒̿̆ ̶̢̹̟̭̙̹̤̮̟͎̜͓͙̦̏̌̀̋̐̾͋͂̇̀̽͘̚͝y̸̨̡̛͕̹͇̤͓̼̙̙̬̩̘͛̏̑̓͂̓̒̀͋͋̏̊͗͜ơ̸̧͙͕̪̲̼̰̬̹͇̰̔̎́͒͆́̀̅̉̊͘ư̷̢̘̫͚͕͔̟̦̻͇͉̅͋̊́͗̓̄̊̋̌̍͑̕͝ͅr̵̢̭̰̯͕͓̺̓̇̐̓̉̃̂̈́̆̐̈́ͅ ̶̠͚͑̈̎͌̈́̀͝b̵̛̬̙͍͛͘ȅ̴̬͈̹̖͙̳͊̐͜͜͝ͅl̴̦̱͓̹͙̣͚̭̠̤̣̦̙͊̇̾̓̈́̈̄̐͒͗̚͝͝t̷̥̮̀̒̈́̄̄̊̆̀͒̚͝,̵͉͇̤̯̫͈̜̰̱̜̤̐͌̈́̍̀͑̕̚͝ ̸̥̙̤̣̮͙̯͕̙̭̇͐o̵̢̧̟̳͉̰̖͖͚̰̙̗̩̿̄̀̽̀̎ŗ̴̛̩͈͚͇̮̻̿̿͊̇͛͒̌̈́͝͠͝ ̷̗̣͉̍͒ţ̶͔̳̭̠̗̣͇̜̈́̅̓̑͘̚ḩ̵̢̗̠͍̱͖̠͊́͋̓̂͘͜͜͠e̸̡͙̫̤̩͈̻͉̪̪̦͉͋̿͑̄̒̏̉̾́̇̕͠ỳ̷̦̜̥̬͕͍̳̄̊ ̵̨̺̯͇͕̟̳̼̞̟̳̈́̌̽̈́͗̉ͅa̴̺̩̖̬͖̎͊̉̀̿̀͌̌͜l̸͉̪̇̓͂̓̏̏͘l̶̢͕͉̯̳̫̺̥̝̍̄̾͋͒̂̌͝ ̶̡̧͉̬̬̳̦̭͚̼͚̹̒̓̄͐̒̆̅͜͝d̸̺̀́͗̉̐̀̎̈́̉́͝i̶̟̗̝͎̰̝͓̻̯̪̾̂͊̿̀ȩ̷͉̻͈̒̏̔̽̎̓̔̃͘͝͝.̵̛͈̥̹͇̖̱̲͛̒́̿̇̾̈̋̈́͂̌

Batman looked down to his belt. He didn’t like like it, but what choice did he have? Batman ripped off his belt, and dropped it to the ground. “Alright Vanaver, I’ll play your game, now can I enter?”

Samantha just smiled and nodded, Batman walked through the front of the Steel Mill, and was met without a tied up girl. Already on edge about Sandra, he rushed towards the girl, not realizing his mistake until early the girl began to shake her head madly. Unfortunately, it was too late, the trap door opened beneath Batman’s feet, and went plummeting into the dark abyss below Gotham.

Ĉ̵̛̛̣͕̯̙̝̘̀̃̾́͌͑́͝͠ō̸̢̘̼̾̒͒̎͐̓̆͌͠n̴̗̘̩̰̮̫̣͎̐͆̎̓̔̀̇̈́̓͌̍̕͠g̵̡̛͓̤̥̞̤̯̩̿̒̈́̈́̀̎͑̈́̄̿̕͝͝ŗ̵̰̫̙͓͍͎̯͍̝͈͚̄͑͋͌̑̓̑̔̂͑̕ͅą̵̠̲̺͉̝͖̉̿t̴̳̹͕̫͋͛͒̔̓͂̇͂͛́̍̋̚ ̸͔̥̰̍B̴͍̥̦̲͍̈́͂́̿̊̏̇̾͝͝a̴̢̯͍̖̤̖͔̟̯͔̖̖̙̽͑̔͂͋̇̊̀͊̈͘t̷̨̛̍͋͆̍̀̚͠m̵̛̤͎͖̮͍̫̓̑́͌͛̏̈̉͜å̵̱̮̙͔̣̖̞͓̹̹̜̦̩͈̦̀n̶̡̻̤̻̩̘̦̳̞͈̅̔͑,̴̧̡͖̖͖̘̯̞̪̞̳̲͉̂̈͆͐̍͌͆̋̈́ͅ ̶̣͎̘͖̥̪̠̠͓͔̅̋̈́̎̎͂͝ẏ̴̝̟̟̬̪͕̭̙o̸̩̝͎̥͙̯̐̽̐͒͗͒͛̓̀̎͒̈́͠͝ũ̶̠̥̲̫̯̤̼̲̙͎͎͐ ̴̛͎̔͊l̴͓̪͕̼̬̰̣̦̲͈̤͈̽͆̋̌̌̀̽o̷̖̣̳̳̐̌̿͒̆͝š̸̻̯̱̗̍́e̵̩̐̅̇́̓͐̎̕.̷̧̻̻̣̺͚̦͉̬̑̍͐́̿́̅͋̈́́̒͘

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translating the demonic text to those who are confused:
> 
> “Good evening, Batman.”
> 
> “I hope you enjoyed our little show, because now we’re going to play. Come to the Steel Mill, or the rest of the girls die.”
> 
> “Hello, Dark Knight.”
> 
> “Patience is a virtue, detective. Hasn’t your mother taught you that? Or did she die before she did?”
> 
> “Calm down, one of them is right through this door. Leave your belt, or they all die.”
> 
> “Congrats Batman, you lose.”


	2. Day 2

Diana awoke in her apartment in Gateway City. Stretching, she climbed out of bed, and made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"What should I make today?" Diana opened her pantry, looking over her options for what to make for breakfast. Before she could choose, a flurry of knocks pounded on her door. "Who could that be?" Diana casually walked over to her front door, and checked the peephole. "Mera?!"

"Diana, please open up!" Mera begged.

Diana did so unhesitatingly. "Mera, what's wrong?"

"Arthur, he's missing!" Mera exclaimed, though in panicked whispers to not draw any attention.

"What? When?!" Diana asked.

"He went out to stop an illegal whaling expedition two days ago, but he never came home," Mera explained. "I know him, Diana. A job that simple wouldn't take a whole day, let alone two."

"Have you told anyone else this news?" Diana asked.

"Most of Atlantis knows, and I informed your mother and your fellow Amazons to help with the search," Mera said. "I was hoping you could get Batman to help, world's greatest detective and all that."

"Of course, I'll call him, now." Diana made her into her bedroom closet, and opened a secret compartment that contained a box. One of the items in the box was a bat shaped phone.

"Does he shape everything like a bat?" Mera asked.

"Yes," Diana answered, punching in Batman's number. After a few seconds of the phone ringing, Diana narrowed her eyes. "Something is wrong."

"What?" Mera asked.

"Bruce never takes this long," Diana said. "When we call his reaction is almost immediate."

"Maybe he's not Batman, right now," Mera said. "I mean, he has a life, and it's like he carries those phones around with him everywhere."

Diana just stared at Mera, like she had just said the stupidest thing Diana ever heard.

"Oh my God, what am I saying?" Mera widened her eyes. "What do you think is wrong?"

As if to answer her question, a loud screech filled the air, causing Diana and Mera to cover their ears.

"What is that?!" Mera cried.

"It sounds like it's coming from the living room," Diana said.

* * *

Superman arrived at the bank just as the two robbers were leaving. "Going somewhere, fellas?"

"Aw crap!" One of the robbers cried out. "It's him!"

"It's been a quiet day, guys," Superman said. "There a reason you'd think I'd not show up?"

"We didn't think you'd pay us much attention," Another robber said.

"Well, I did," Superman said. "I also took apart your guns while we were talking, and I also returned all the money in your bags."

"What?!" One robber checked his bag, and saw that it was empty. "Aw man!"

Another tried to shoot Superman, as vain as it was, only for his gun to fall apart as he raised it. "Aw man!"

"Alright guys, just give up," Suoerman said. "If you stop now and face the music, and maybe you can-" Suddenly, a piercing screech filled the city, causing Superman, due to his super hearing, to fall down, gripping his ears.

"Let's beat it!" One of the robbers yelled, and the two took off down the street, only to be cut off by the cops. "God damn it!"

When the screeching finally stopped, Superman saw that the sound had blown out windows, and people were walking out of buildings, ears bleeding.

"What was that?!" Superman wondered aloud.

* * *

"Alright gentlemen, we have a deal?" The mob boss asked.

"Yeah, we give you a cut of our arms trade, if you give us a cut of your drug trafficking," the other spoke.

"Good, then let's shake it." The mob boss held out his hand, and the other shook it. Before either could speak, the lights went out. "What the-"

"Hello," Jason said, before opening fire on the two dealers and their guards, illuminating the room with his gun fire. When his gun clicked empty, every man in the room lay dead. "Looks like the only thing you guys are selling are your organs...I mean...if your doners, or something like that...and I'm talking to no one."

That's when the television in the room shot on, and a screech assaulted Jason. Thankfully, Jason came prepared for such situations, and had installed a sound proof device in his helmet that automatically activated the second something deafening was detected.

"Yikes, what's up with that?" Jason asked himself.

"Hello, people of America, the court of Owls would like to apologize for this interruption, but we have a very special announcement." Samantha appeared on the television screen, wearing an owl mask. "Gotham, and the Batman, now belong to us."

"Oh no..." Jason widened his eyes.

"We want all military and fellow superheroes to stay as far away from the city as possible, and to prove it..." Samantha held up a trigger, and pressed the red button on top of it. The camera then cut to the bridges that surrounded Gotham, and one by one they blew up, sending hundreds of cars plummeting into the waters below. "I have bombs like those place all around Gotham, I see a military chopper or Superhero flying towards my city, and I blow us all to kingdom come. To anyone who thinks I won't do it," Samantha ripped off her make, showing off her deranged grin, "try me."

Jason was left stunned as the television suddenly shut off, leaving him a pitch dark room.

* * *

Bruce stirred, and opened his eyes to be greeted by a blinding white light. He held his hand in front of his face, groaning.

"He is awake!"

"Wonderful!"

"The game can begin!"

"The time has come!"

"Who...who's there?" Batman called out, but he received no answer.

"He doesn't know what's happening."

"This will make the game fun."

"Yes, truly!"

"I can't wait to see him suffer!"

Bruce got to his feet, and brought his finger to his earpieces, but all he felt was bare skin. "What?!" Bruce realized his mask was off, exposing his face to the strange voices that surrounded him.

"Poor boy wants his mask back.

"No matter, we all know."

"Wayne will die like the others."

"Die like the others."

"Die like the others."

"Die like the others."

"Die like the others."

Bruce looked up to see nothing but pitch black darkness above him, but this allowed the white owl masks to stick out like sour thumb to him. That's when he began to take in his environment, a fountain at the center of the room he was in, picture of men littering the white walls, and two exits.

"If you can escape, then you'll live, Dark Knight."

"He will fail."

"He will die."

"The Court of Owls will claim another Wayne."

"Look to the wall, Bruce. See the faces of the Waynes that died for us."

Bruce looked to the wall, and that's he when he noticed Solomon Wayne, and many of his other ancestors who had all perished in "accidents".

"No..." Bruce looked at the faces, and then he saw Thomas Elliot, Lincoln, Zsasz's Parents, and so many others. "All these people, killed to keep Gotham in a state of misery."

"Now we take Gotham as our own, and with the suffering of its population, we'll bring our God to this world!"

"No!" Bruce shouted up to them. "I won't let that happen. I'll stop you! I'll stop all of you!"

"Then escape, Wayne!"

"Escape!"

"Escape!"

"Escape!"

"Escape?" Bruce walked towards one of the two exits, and was greeted with a hallway that split in two different directions. "Oh no...I'm in a maze."


	3. Day 3

Gotham was in chaos by the next night. The Court of Owls butchering the Arkham staff allowed them to stage a mass breakout, even with the police on the scene, and release dozens of Batman's most dangerous and psychotic foes the same night he disappeared. With Batman gone, and Gotham at their mercy, they used this opportunity to make the city theirs, butchering or doing worse to any innocent people they find. Soon, Gotham was a ghost town, as any civilians barricaded themselves in their homes in a desperate attempt to survive this No Man's land.

"Please...please done hurt me!" The young blonde girl begged, she backed into the corner as her attacker grew even more unhinged.

"Why must you refuse to play with me, Alice?!" Mad Hatter cried, waving the knife in his hand, madly. "I just want to be your friend and have tea with you!"

"My name is Marcy, I'm not an Alice!" Marcy cried.

"No, no, no!" Mad Hatter wagged his finger. "You're wrong, Alice! Wrong, wrong, wrong! You're supposed to drink tea and dance, and sing the mock turtle's song!"

"I just want to go home," Marcy begged. "Please, just let me go home!"

"You are home, Alice!" Mad Hatter suddenly became chipper and happy, laughing. "Wonderland is where we all belong! Oh, I do wish your stubbornness wasn't so strong."

"We're in your basement!" Marcy shouted.

"No, Wonderland is where we are!" Mad Hatter exclaimed, admiring the magic, colorful world he saw through his crazed eyes. "It's so pretty! If you'd just accept me, you can see Wonderland, too!" He held out his hand, offering it to Marcy.

"No!" Marcy slapped his hand away, and tried to run, but Mad Hatter grabbed her.

"How dare you act so rude, Alice!" Mad Hatter's mood rapidly changed to enraged, he pushed her to the floor, and raised the knife over his head. "I'll teach you!"

"No!" Marcy crawled away until her back hit the wall, holding her hand up in some desperate attempt to defend herself from the crazed hatter. "Please, I'll be your Alice!"

"No, no, no!" Mad Hatter shouted. "It's all wrong, wrong, wrong! You won't drink tea! You won't dance! **_AND YOU WON'T SING THE MOCKING TURTLE'S SONG!_**"

Marcy screamed before Mad Hatter stabbed her in chest, and continued to do so until she surrendered her last breath, and succumbed to her wounds.

"Why?!" Mad Hatter cried in sadness. "Why do all these fake Alice's keep wasting my time? I want Alice! **Alice!** Not these fakers! They don't drink tea, they just are takers!"

* * *

"Man, look at all this stuff!" A looter stared through the window of the store, eyeing down a fancy looking flat screen television. "Too bad we can't afford it, huh Mart?"

"Yeah, damn shame, Frank," Mart said, picking up a brick. "That said, wouldn't it be a tragedy if someone just so happened to break the window, allowing us to nab that sweet stuff?"

"Would be a real shame for the owner, but you can't blame a man for taking the opportunity!" Frank smirked, stepping away from the window as Mart took aim.

"Yep." Mart shattered the window. "Real shame."

As the two men began take the flat screen, a man hole opened up behind them. Out of it came what looked like a man, but it had green skin, claws, sharp, jagged teeth, and yellow eyes with slanted pupils. The eleven foot tall creature stomped over to the men, who were too preoccupied with their looting to notice until they began to feel the ground shake in his presence. They froze, not moving an inch until the creature stood over them both.

"Oh God...you're-"

"Killer Croc," Killer Croc introduced himself. "No need to give me your names, I'll just call you supper!"

* * *

Gordon looked out to the city as an explosion in the distance lit up the night sky. He heard it all, every sirens, every scream, every window smash, but he still stood on the roof, bat signal aimed at the sky.

"Gordon, you got to get inside!" Bullock ordered.

"Yeah, it's not safe up here, Commissioner," Renee Montoya agreed. "Who knows what snipers could be walking across the rooftops, looking to kill you."

"I need to know," Gordon said, stubbornly. "I need to know he'll come!"

"Forget it, Commissioner!" Bullock shouted. "Look, I don't like the bat freak, but I know for a second we wouldn't abandon this city. They took him, we need to get him back!"

"You really think they captured him?" Gordon turned to them.

"I'd hate to agree with a bunch of owl mask wearing freaks, but they said Batman belonged to them, and him not showing up, especially in such a chaotic time, is out of character," Renee noted.

"Damn!" Gordon slammed his fist on the metal railing, then he made his way over to Renee and Bullock. "This is too much! We can't handle all of this on our own!"

"And you won't have to," A voice spoke behind the trio.

Gordon turned, and gasped. "Batman?"

"That's right, Jim." Batman stood on top of the Bat signal, cape flowing in cool night wind. "I escaped from the Court of Owls, they don't know that yet, but I intend to let them know."

"How?" Gordon asked.

"You question every miracle?" Batman asked.

"Right, sorry," Gordon said. "It's crazy out there, we got Jarvis tearing little girls to pieces, Croc feeding, a gang war between Harvy and that puppet holding mad man, and that's just to start!"

"I'll deal with them," Batman said. "First, we need to start with the little guy, tell the GCPD officer willing to fight to follow the bat mobile, and I'll have every human with no gimmick behind bars.'

"Right!" Gordon turned to Renee and Bullock. "You heard the man."

Renee nodded, Bullock grumbled something under his breath, but followed Renee without argument.

"It's good to know-" Gordon turned to face Batman, but he was gone. "Of course," he sighed. "It's good to have you back."

Just below the platform that held the bat signal, Batman was hanging over the ledge, looking out to Gotham. He brought his finger to his earpiece.

"Alfred, you get all that?" Batman asked.

"Yes, and I must say, you've done a wonderful performance," Alfred complimented. "I almost believe you're the man, himself."

"The people need hope," Batman said. "Dad will find a way to escape them, I know it. Right now, we need to stop those riots."

"Agreed, sending the Bat mobile to your location," Alfred said. "Good luck, Master Grayson."


	4. Day 4

"Oh Alice, isn't this wonderful?" Mad Hatter asked his new, hypnotized 'Alice'. "Do you finally see how fun things can be when stop acting like such a wicked little thing, and do as you're told?"

"Hey...uh...boss?" Duffy walked onto Mad Hatter's Wonderland set.

"What?!" Mad Hatter shouted at her.

"I lost contact with one of the guys," Duffy said.

"So?" Mad Hatter looked at her, irritated.

"Batman isn't the only hero walking through the night," Duffy said. "We should be on our toes."

"Do whatever you wish, carpenter," Mad Hatter said. "I'm still upset with you for bringing me that fake Alice, last night."

Duffy rolled her eyes. "Sorry."

"It's okay!" Mad Hatter smiled. "Now could you please give Alice and I some alone time? The March Hare will be back with the tea in a few minutes!"

"Sure." Duffy left the set, shutting the door behind her. "Ugh, that looney freak is lucky he pays so well." That's when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. "Huh?" She turned, and was promptly knocked out with a blow from a bo-staff.

The noise outside caught Mad Hatter's attention. "Carpenter? Are you okay?"

No answer.

Mad Hatter reached under the table, and pulled out his revolver.

"I finished making the tea." A man dressed as the March Hare walked out from the set's kitchen, tray in hand.

"Shush!" Mad Hatter ordered. "Stay with her, I need to check something out!"

"Yes," the March Hare said.

Mad Hatter made his way over to the door, and opened it. There, he found Duffy's unconscious body.

"Who could've don such a thing?!" Mad Hatter asked himself.

"Who do you think?" A voice joked.

Mad Hatter turned to see Red Robin standing next to 'Alice' and the 'March Hare'. "Get away from them!" He aimed his revolver, but Tim was too fast. He threw a shuriken, knocking the gun from Mad Hatter. He let out a childish whine, and turned to run, but Tim tripped him with his bat claw. "No!"

"Come on, Jervis," Tim said, walking over to him. "It's over."

"No, I don't know who you're talking about!" Mad Hatter whined.

Tim lifted Mad Hatter by his collar, ripped off his hat, then crushed it.

"No!" Mad Hatter cried as his hypnotized tech was deactivated, allow 'Alice' and the 'March Hare' to be freed from his control.

"Huh?" The man who was the March Hare shook his head.

"Where am I?" Asked the girl who was Alice.

"No!" Mad Hatter cried. "Why?! Why must you always take my friends?!"

"They aren't your friend, Jervis," Tim said. "Now let's go!"

Tim dragged Jervis out of his Wonderland set, him kicking and screaming all the while.

* * *

Killer Croc walked into his underground lair, carrying a squirming sack over his shoulder. When he reached his large bed, he tossed the sack onto it, and opened it, revealing a tied up and gagged woman.

"Don't squirm around, too much." Croc pulled the woman out of the bag. "I tend to eat my prey slower if they annoy me."

"Mmmph!" The woman cried through her gag.

"Yeah," Croc snarked, dragging the woman into his self-made meat locker. There, the bodies of dozens men and women hung on meat hooks.

The gagged woman began to cry in fear.

"I've been racking up quite the body count these past few days," Croc said. "I guess the bat being gone really allowed me to run wild."

By this point, the gagged woman had ceased her resistance.

"People always treated me as less then human," Croc said. "Overtime, I saw that they were right, but that didn't make me hate them any less. Now, all I see humans as good for, is food."

The gagged woman looked up to him, seemingly showing pity for Croc.

"It doesn't matter." Croc shook his head. "All that matters to me now, is food."

As Croc towered over the woman, before he could even act, something flew from the darkness. It was a pill shaped, and it covered Croc's face with a sticky substance when it made contact.

Croc growled in rage as he attempted to pull the gunk off his face. As he was distracted, the gagged woman saw a figure in red and black come from the shadows. It was Kate Kane, Batwoman, who freed her.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked the woman as she pulled off the tape over her mouth.

"Yes, I think so," the woman said.

Kate cut the ropes around her wrist and ankles. That's when Croc finally pulled off the substance.

"Run," Kate ordered.

The woman did so without hesitation.

"You let my meal escape, bat!" Croc bellowed in rage. "No worries, I will forgive you, once you take her place!"

Kate activated her shock gauntlets, and popped Croc square in the jaw when he snapped at her. He roared in rage, and attempted to grab her, but slid between his legs, delivering a strike to his groin as she did so. This caused Croc to fall to his knees, allowing Kate to flip over, grab his head in midair, then violently slam it into the concrete floor, knocking Croc unconscious.

* * *

Opera music blared throughout the butcher shop, along with the singing of the mad man who turned it on to begin with. The mad man was Lazlo Valentin, also known as Professor Pyg, who had been using the chaos of Gotham to abduct men, women, and children in order make them into his 'perfect' dollotrons.

"Please...it hurts..." begged the man on his operating table.

"Do not worry, my precious," Pyg said in a comforting tone. "Pain is only a part of the process of making you beautiful! Perfect!"

"Please!" The man cried.

"Dollotron, get this man quiet juice," Pyg ordered one of his Dollotrons, who got him a syringe filled with morphine. "This will take the pain, away. Now, please, let Pyg fix you!" Pyg injected the man, who let out a sigh of relief, and relaxed. "There, there, soon you will be perfect!"

Before Pyg could continue with his surgery, crying caught his attention. Stopping, he made his way over to the cages holding his future dollotrons, and found a boy crying.

"Why do you cry, child?" Pyg asked, concerned.

The boy didn't answer, he just looked up at Pyg in fear.

"Oh, I see now!" Pyg exclaimed, opening the cage, completely ignorant to the child's fear. "You're crying because you finally see you flaws, your imperfections! Do not worry, child!" He hugged the boy, like a father comforting his child. "Pyg is here, and he loves all of his children! He will fix you, and your pain will end!"

That's when he heard gunshots from his room.

"What was that?!" Pyg shouted, he looked to the boy, then gently pushed him away, locking his cage. "Stay here, Pyg won't let anything happen to you!"

Pyg ran into his operating room, and saw Red Hood shooting down the last of his Dollotrons.

"No! What are you doing to my lovelies?!" Pyg cried out in horror.

"Taking them down!" Jason spat. "Don't worry, I'm using rubber bullets. A rare mercy for guys like you!"

"No, I won't let you destroy my children!" Pyg pulled a butcher knife, and blindly charged at Jason. "I won't let-"

Jason shot Pyg in the chest, then shot the knife from his hand. Pyg staggered, but he didn't fall. Jason unloaded both of his pistols into Pyg's body, until he finally fell to the ground, squealing in pain.

"Why?" Pyg curled into the fetal position. "Why must you hurt Pyg?! He only wants to help! He makes people perfect! Beautiful!"

"No, you don't," Jason said, stomping on Pyg's face to knock him unconscious.

* * *

Jason tossed Professor Pyg's unconscious body at Gordon's feet. "There is your serial killer."

"Thanks, Red Hood," Gordon said.

"Don't mention it," Jason said.

"You're friends are up on the roof, conversing with Batman," Gordon said. "They got here just before you did, bringing in criminals of their own."

"Got it," Jason said, making his way to the GCPD's elevator.

When arrived in the roof, he found Dick and Tim talking, while Kate and Renee where near the bat signal, talking with one another.

"Jason, glad you made it," Dick said.

"You know even I would never leave this city to this level of chaos," Jason said. "I caught Pyg, and yes, I didn't kill him."

"I'm sure Bruce would love to hear that," Tim said.

"Yeah, but Dad isn't here," Jason said, bitterly. "We should be looking for him, trying to find where those Owl loving fucks have taken him!"

"You know that's not what Bruce would want," Tim said. "We need to focus on the innocent people of Gotham, once we get things under control, then we can look for Bruce."

"What if he's dead, by then?!" Jason shouted. "Look, I can't...I can't lose him."

"We won't." Dick placed a comforting hand on Jason's shoulder.

"But-" Jason began to protest.

"The city is more important," Dick interrupted. "Jason, you know I'm right."

"Yeah, I fucking know!" Jason snatched his shoulder away. "That doesn't mean I'm happy about it!"

"None of us are," Tim said.

"Speaking of getting things under control, did any of you happen to take out Two-Face or Wesker?" Dick asked.

"No," Jason answered.

"Nope," said Tim.

"Batwoman," Dick called over to Kate, but she and Renee were kissing.

"Hey, love birds!" Jason shouted, getting their attention. "Did either of you happen to get Two-face or Wesker?"

Kate glanced at Renee, then shook her head. "No, sorry."

"Their gang war has engulfed the entire city, before," Dick said. "With the state Gotham is in now, who knows how many lives it will take."

"That will take top priority, then," Tim said. "Once that's dealt with, we can deal with the bombs."

"With those gone, we can get help," Jason said.

"With that help, we'll find Bruce," Dick said. "Alright, sounds like a plan."

Jason cocked his gun. "Let's stop a gang war!"


	5. Day 5

The city wide intercom chimed in before Samantha's voice voice spoke. "Good evening scum of Gotham, I do hope you're enjoying your chaos and murder. Just wanted to remind you lot who broke you out, who took care of Batman, and who is allowing you to run free through the streets. I don't want to give too much of a warning, but I will say this, change is coming, and if you want to be a part of that change, you'll join the court of owls!" With that, and another chime, Samantha's voice cut off.

In front of Gotham City Hall, Two-Face and his crew had just finished listening to Samantha's message.

"Eh, to hell with that," Two-Face said, turning to his crew. "We ain't going to let no secret society get they're hands on us, right boys?"

Two-Face's gang cheered.

"That's right, we got a puppet to deal with!" Two-Face exclaimed.

"Or maybe not," a voice with a thick Brooklyn accent said.

"You!" Two-Face pointed behind his crowd of men, revealing Scarface and Arnold Wesker. Every single one of Two-Face's men pulled out their guns, and aimed them at Wesker.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Mr. Scarface!" Wesker cried, only to be slapped in the face by Scarface.

"Shut it, dummy!" Scarface spat. "Two-Face, call off your dogs, we want to talk."

"Don't listen to him, boss!" One thug shouted.

"Yeah, he's just trying to trick us!" Shouted another.

"You know how this works, boys." Two-Face took out his trusty coin from his pocket. "Let's see what fate has to say to these two." He flipped the coin into the air, caught it, and checked. "Lower your guns, let's hear them out."

"Glad your coin made the right decision, Harvey," Scarface said.

"Don't call me that!" Two-Face shouted. "You watch your mouth, you worthless block of wood, or I'll be flipping this coin again!"

"Okay, sorry, Two-Face," Scarface said.

"What do you want?!" Two-Face bellowed.

"Look, I've been listening to the dummy, and he convinced me to show ya some mercy," Scarface said. "While I'm not up for that, he did bring up a good point about your usefulness."

"Thank you, Mr. Scarface," Wesker said, smiling and adjusting his glasses.

"Shut it, dummy!" Scarface smacked him, again. "Don't get smart with me!"

"Sorry, Mr. Scarface!" Wesker cried.

"As I was saying," Scarface looked back to Two-Face, "what do ya say, Two-Face? Why don't we put this rivalry behind us?"

"That fact I'm considering it at all should be a moment of pride," Two-Face said. "That said, I'll let the coin decide." He flipped the coin, caught it, and checked. "Sorry Scarface, but fate says otherwise! Kill him!"

"Too bad, Two-Face!" Scarface shouted. "Boys!"

That's when Scarface's men popped out of trash cans, jumped out from the shadows, and walked out from behind city hall.

"You should've taken the deal, Dent!" Scarface shouted. "Now you're going to bite it!"

"Mr. Scarface, must we kill more people?" Wesker asked, meekly.

"Do I pay you to ask questions, dummy?!" Scarface got in Wesker's face. "Your advice was worthless, so now we're doing it my way!"

"You want to dance, puppet?!" Two-Face pulled out his duel wielding pistols. "Let's dance!"

Before either ground could fire a shot, a smoke bomb dropped within the group, and soon, all of them were engulfed in it.

"It's the bat freaks!" Two-Face shouted. "I recognize that smoke anywhere!"

Then Batwoman, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batman jumped from the rooftops, and down into the smoke below. As they were blinded, Two-Face heard Scarface, his men, and his own men being beaten up. Not taking his chances, he turned to run, only for Batman to jump out of the smoke and land in front of him.

"Wait, that's impossible!" Two-Face backed away from Dick. "You're supposed to be gone!"

"I'm not, Harvey," Dick said. "The criminals of Gotham will never be rid of me, no matter what any secret society says or does, as long as crime is committed, Batman will always be here."

Two-Face aimed his guns, but with two well thrown Batarangs, Dick had them out of his hands. Two-Face shouted in frustration, and charged at Dick, throwing a single punch, a punch that Dick countered, knocking Harvey out with a quick backhand with his armored knuckles.

"So much for the dangerous gang war," Tim snarked.

"Agreed, can't believe it took us a whole day to find these guys," Jason said.

"With this taken care of, we can focus on those bombs," Dick said.

"Where could we even start looking?" Kate asked. "Not like you need to plant a lot of explosives to blow a city to kingdom come, as she put it."

"Hey, snarking is my thing!" Jason wagged his finger at Kate.

"Oh, sorry, didn't know you had the rights to being a snarky dick weasel," Kate snarked.

"Oof," Tim chuckled.

"Guys, can we please focus?" Dick asked.

"Man, you even got his buzzkill skills down," Jason snarked.

"You're turning out just like him," Kate snarked.

"Man, they're double teaming you with snark," Tim said.

"Let's just get these guys back to the GCPD and plan out next move!" Dick exclaimed in frustration.

* * *

"Gordon, we stopped Two-Face and Scarface's gang war, we're coming with the two mob bosses now," Dick said into his earpiece. "Send a squad car to pick up the others at the location I'm emailing you."

"Good, when you get to the GCPD come inside, I'll have men deal with Scarface and Harvey," Gordon said.

"Something wrong, Jim?" Dick asked.

"No, just something I want you to see!" Gordon exclaimed before hanging up.

Dick looked over to Tim, who was in the passenger seat, who simply shrugged in response. Kate and Jason were riding on top of the car, so Dick had to go slower then usual. Despite this, they still arrived at the GCPD in record time. There, in front of the building, were a group of GCPD officers.

That's when the intercom chime went off, and Samantha spoke. "So, you've taken out the trouble makers? Good, savior your victory, get as cocky as you like, it will only make your failure all the more delicious!"

"Man, does she ever shut up?" Jason asked, annoyed.

"At least her voice is hot," Kate joked.

"Don't make this gay, Kate." Dick facepalmed.

"By the end of this week, my plans will succeed," Samantha boasted. "Nia and I will be Gods, ruling over the multiverse to rape and butcher who we please!"

"They just want to rape and murder?" Tim asked, shocked.

"They're hedonistic monsters," Dick said.

"We'll take those creeps off your hands," Bullock said, nodding to two GCPD officers to move to the back of the bat mobile.

Dick pressed a button on his gauntlet, and the trunk opened, revealing Two-Face and Scarface, tied up.

"What did you want us to see?" Tim asked Bullock.

"Not what, who," Bullock corrected. "Go in and see for yourself."

The group looked at one another, then headed into the GCPD. When they did, they were greeted by Gordon, who was talking to three people.

"No way," Dick said.

"Ah, they're back," Grodon said.

Superman was the first to turn. "Nice to see the top dogs of the good fight!"

"You're all so brave," Wonder Woman said.

"I see why Arthur had so much respect for you," Mera said.

"How did you guys get in?" Dick asked.

"The Court of Owls were expecting us to come flying in," Superman said.

"They didn't expect us to come from the sea, using a bubble of air," Wonder Woman said, wrapping an arm around Mera. "Isn't that right, Mera?"

"Yep." Mera smiled, goofily.

"Well, with you guys here, what's the plan?" Kate asked.

"I say we head to the roof, and Superman uses his x-Ray vision to find our bombs and perpetrators," Dick said.

"Let's get to it, then!" Superman nodded.

* * *

Bruce collapsed, using some of his energy to punch the white floor in frustration, as he had once against stumbled into the beginning of the maze. The fountain in the middle of the room mocked him, temping him to sip even a small amount of the water running through it.

"You may be thirsty, Wayne."

"Take a sip!"

"Drink!"

"No!" Bruce shouted, covering his ears. "I'm not going to drink! I'm not listening to you!"

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

"Shut up!" Bruce fell to his knees, dehydration and starvation finally overtaking him. "Shut...up..." he fell, landing face first onto the ground.

"Wayne is down!"

"Good, now that his suffering is complete," One of the Owl's pulled off her mask, revealing herself to be Samantha, "the ritual can begin!"

"What about the other members of the bat family?" A member asked.

"No worries, once were done with them, all of Gotham will know despair!" Samantha exclaimed, laughing maniacally. "Then, Barbatos can be summoned!"

* * *

"Any luck, Clark?" Diana asked.

Superman flew down, shaking his head, sadly. "No sign of them or Bruce."

"Damn it!" Jason slammed his fist on the metal railing of the platform holding the bat signal, bending it.

"They must've been prepared for this," Dick said. "Maybe the walls their hide out is laced with lead."

"So, now what?" Tim asked.

"Looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way," Kate said.

"Which means...?" Mera titled her head.

"We're going to have to search every room in every building in the city," Dick said. "That's not even getting into the underground tunnels."

"Then we should waste anymore time," Diana said. "We have three island filed with dozens of buildings, with hundreds of rooms."

"Ugh!" Jason groaned. "This is going to be a nightmare!"


	6. Day 6

After a full day of searching, the remaining members of the trinity and bat family suffered a great loss of morale. While most were upset, Jason, as usual, got angry.

"You know,when you guys showed up, I expected you to be a little more helpful!" Jason shouted.

"Jason, please," Dick said, placing a Hanson Jason's shoulder. "We aren't going to do Bruce any favors by freaking out on each other."

"Whatever." Jason snatched his shoulder from Dick's grasp. "This is bullshit!"

"I'm so sorry," Superman said, guilt ridden. "I just thought...I never..."

"What, are you not used to being this worthless?!" Jason asked, venomously. "You superhuman fucks thought all you needed to do was get here, and you'd solve the problem no issue!"

"No, it's just-" Wonder Woman tried to protest.

"Just what?!" Jason shouted, causing Wonder Woman to wince. "You think just because Gothamis human, that you can deal with this?! Well, wake up! You may be stronger, faster, and more durable than the average man, but you're still nothing when man gets the drop on you!"

"Jason, that's enough!" Dick shouted, this caused Jason to back down. "You think we're all not worried?!"

"No, I just-" Jason began.

"Shut it!" Dick ordered. "Look, you want to get angry? You want to lash out? Go on ahead, but that makes you useless, and we don't want anything that's useless to stick around."

"I'm not going to leave!" Jason cried. "Not when Dad needs us!"

"Then get a grip on that anger, and help us!" Dick shouted.

Jason seemed to shrink into himself, even through his mask Dick could tell that got to him. "Alright...I'm sorry."

"Better," Dick's tone softened, "we need to think, if even Superman couldn't find Bruce, or the bombs, then they must be somewhere lead lined."

"What kind of place could be fill with so much lead?" Mera asked.

That's when the intercom chimed. "The kind of place that's meant to keep you out!"

"What?!" Dick looked up to one of the many screens lining Gotham, and Samantha looked down at him.

"That's right, I can hear you," Samantha mocked. "I've been listening this whole time!"

"How?!" Tim asked.

"The Court of Owls has had Gotham bugged for decades," Samantha said. "You can't even sneeze in this city without us knowing about it."

"Man, Bruce's level of paranoia is just looking better and better," Kate snarked.

"You want Batman?" Samantha asked, she moved the camera, revealing Batman, his mask back on, strapped to a machine. "You better hurry, don't know how long he'll last! Activate the machine!"

Suddenly, Batman's unmoving form jolted awake, screaming in agony as purple lighting coursed through his veins.

"Dad!" Dick and Jason shouted, simultaneously.

"You want him back? Come to this address," Samantha said, as an address popped on screen.

"How did we not know he was there?!" Jason asked, enraged.

"Because it wasn't there before," Superman said, pointing to the Gotham harbor as a massive warehouse rose out of the ground.

"What are these people?!" Wonder Woman's jaw dropped at the sight.

"The people that are going down!" Dick exclaimed. "Come on!"

* * *

When the group, along with almost all of the GCPD arrived, they talked with Gordon about their next plan of attack.

"So, what do we do?" Gordon asked.

"I get the feeling just walking in isn't a good idea," Kate said.

"They practically rolled out the red carpet, that's never a good thing when the bad guys do that," Jason noted.

"True, but Batman is going to die in there if we don't act now," Dick noted.

"I'll go in, first," Superman volunteered. "They can't do anything to me."

"You sure about that?" Jason asked, bitterly. "I bet you thought you'd find Bruce and the bombs quick, didn't you?"

"Red Hood, enough!" Dick scolded. "Alright Superman, you're up."

"Thanks," Superman said with a grateful nod. He walked towards the building, using his X-ray vision. "Damn, they really thought ahead with this, the entire building is laced with lead." Superman grabbed the front entrance, and forced the doors open with ease. "Unfortunately for them, lead isn't a weakness."

That's when a large, purple glowing hand grabbed Superman.

"Too bad magic is!" Samantha boasted.

Superman only had enough time to widen his eyes before he was pulled in.

"Superman!" Wonder Woman cried out, running towards the door, only for it to magically seal itself shut. "No!" She tried to force the doors open, but something was keeping them protected.

"Heh, so much for they can't hurt me," Jason said, bitterly.

Inside, Superman was tossed to the floor by the glowing hand.

"Magic may be a weakness, but it's not enough to stop me!" Superman punched the glowing hand as it reached for him, shattering it like glass. "Where is Batman?!"

"Why don't you guess?" Samantha throw a ball at Superman, and it landed at his feet.

"What is this?" Superman asked, then the ball exploded, engulfing him in green gas. "Wait...this gas...its laced with-"

"We had this building lined with lead," Samantha pointed out. "You really think we wouldn't have kryptonite on standby?"

"No..." Superman feel to his knees, and when he opened his eyes, he was in a room, tied to a chair. "What is this, why can't I move?!"

"Because you failed, Superman," a deep voice said.

"Wait...no!" Superman cried out when he recognized the voice.

"That's right, man of steel, I have returned." Darkseid walked out from the shadows.

"How?!" Superman shouted.

"That doesn't matter, what matters, is this." Darkseid stepped asides, and Superman saw all of Metropolis was burning. "I have killed everything you love, as penalty for defying the will of Darkseid."

Superman's restraints were suddenly gone, but that didn't matter to him. When he walked through the destroyed Metropolis, he saw Lois, Jimmy, Perry, his parents, all hanging from from the buildings, dead. Despite this, he heard their voices.

"Why did you let us die?!"

"You failed us!"

"It's you're fault we're dead!"

"Darkseid came here because of you!"

"No...please stop!" Superman covered his ears, tears rolling down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Im the real world, Superman was curled in the fetal position, shaking and muttering to himself. Over him stood Samantha, Nia, and Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow.

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Crane," Samantha said. "You've made our job so much easier."

"It is worth it to see the mighty cower at the effects of my fear toxin," Crane said. "Let's focus on the rest outside, shall we?"

"Let's," Samantha said with a nod and grin.

Outside, Wonder Woman was now just punching the doors, desperately trying to knock them open despite the fact they magically fix any dent made to them.

"Diana, please stop," Mera begged, taking her shoulder.

"I can't...I need to save them...need to get then out!" Wonder Woman's punches increased in pace.

"We will, just-" Mera pulled Wonder Woman away from the door, only for her to whirl around and stare her down.

"I can't lose Trevor!" Wonder Woman shouted in her face.

Everyone went quiet, and Mera gasped.

"I mean...Superman and Batman...I meant...I meant them..." Wonder Woman fell to her knees, Mera hugging her.

"I know, Diana." Mera held Diana tightly. "I know."

"Hey,the windows are opening!" Gordon shouted.

That's when dozens, if not hundreds of smoke bombs came flying out of the windows. They exploded when they made contact with the ground. Soon, the whole group were seeing their worst nightmares.

Dick watched his parents plummet to their deaths, again.

Jason felt the crowbar savagely beat him.

Tim saw his father, killed in thousands of horrific ways.

Kate saw Renee butchered by a homophobic mob.

Mera saw her husband and son, killed by Black Manta.

Gordon watched Barbara be paralyzed, and blaming him.

Bullock heard Sandra crying for his help.

Wonder Woman relived Steve Trevor's death on an endless loop.

Bythe time Samantha, Nia, and Crane opened the doors to the warehouse, even Wonder Woman was on the ground, crying to herself.

"How does it feel, Crane?" Samantha asked.

Crane walked over to Diana, feeling like a God for having caused this mighty Amazon to fear him. "Heavenly."


	7. Day 7

Batman was locked in endless agony for what felt like an eternity. Then, before he even realized it, the pain stopped, and he fell to the ground.

"Wake up, Batman," Samantha's voice echoed through his ears. "It's over."

Batman was curled into a ball on the ground, broken, whimpering, and shaking.

"Come on, Batman," Samantha said.

Batman just continued to shake, like a scared child.

Samantha scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "I excepted you to be stronger."

"Well, it was an incredibly stressful experience," a raspy voice said.

"Agreed, but it's over now," said a feminine voice.

"Same, I thought the me from another realm would be just as strong as me." Batman heard the padding as two pairs of bare feet walked into his view, he looked up to see a woman dressed like him, and...

"D-Diana?" Batman asked, hopeful.

Diana glared daggers at him, and delivered a kick to the face. "No, you stupid, disgusting man!"

"Look at you, the great Batman of Prime Earth." Batman felt himself be lifted into the air, and was soon face to face with Barbatos. "Now shaking and muttering like a kicked puppy."

"I take it you're Barbatos?" Batman looked the monstrous abomination in its purple, glowing eyes.

"I see that world's greatest detective mantel applies to you, as well," The Batman who Laughs snarked.

"What are you?!" Batman looked at The Batman who Laughs in horror.

"I think the question should be, who are all of us!" The Batman who Laughs stood among his fellow Batmen, wrapping his arms around The Grim Knight and Saint Batman. "The answer is simple, we're you!"

"I brought them here, Batman," Barbatos said. "I traveled the multiverse, finding the most horrific, brutal, and monstrous incarnations of yourself."

"And we're here to do some damage!" The Batman who Laughs exclaimed, laughing madly after doing so.

"How did you even get here?" Batman asked.

"Simple, that unexplainable agony you were feeling?" Samantha chimed in, Nia and Crane standing beside her. "It was all part of the ritual. You see, in order to summon Barbatos, you need suffering. Not just any suffering, but true suffering. I mean a literal hell on Earth suffering. When Barbatos was ready to be summoned, he contacted us, and we put out plan into motion. Knowing you'd show up to asylum to learn of our escape, we made you extra desperate by putting that dead girl in your car, making it all to easy to trap you when you saw another girl tied up right in front of you."

"Did you-" Batman began.

"Have fun with them while you were captured?" Samantha finished. "Yeah. Yeah, we did."

Nia licked her lips, earning a disgusted look from Batman.

"Anyway, we soon let Gotham fall into chaos, and when the time was right, we tortured you on live television, the symbol of all of Gotham's hope, to break the people," Samantha explained. "With the suffering of Gotham complete, Barbatos was able to arrive on Prime Earth."

"Now that I'm on Prime Earth, my take over of the multiverse shall begin!" Barbatos exclaimed, triumphantly.

"We shall become Gods!" Samantha cheered, happily.

The Batman who Laughs began to laugh hysterically. "Wow, that's cruel Barbatos, even for me!" He wiped away a tear. "I love it!"

"What do you mean?" Samantha cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do you really think I'd give you Godhood?" Barbatos asked.

For the first time, Samantha and Nia showed true fear.

"You promised us!" Samantha shouted.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't have to keep it," Barbatos said, looking to Diana and Bryce. "You two know what to do."

Diana walked over to the portal they came out of, and called out. "Amazons!"

The ground began to shake, and soon Amazons of came flooding out of the portal. They began to slaughter the Court of Owls one by one.

"Wait, you can't do this!" Samantha cried out. "You promised us Godhood!"

"Yeah, I sure did," Barbatos said, sarcastically.

Samantha and Nia looked at each other in horror.

"No, you can't do this!" Crane shouted as a group of Amazons closed in on him. "I am scarecrow, master of fe-" he was cut down before he could finish.

"Sorry, love." Samantha pushed Nia to the ground, and made a mad dash towards the exit.

_You bitch!_ Nia mouthed before an Amazon grabbed her.

"Come on!" Samantha pulled on the door handle. "Why won't it open?!"

"Because of that little spell you used to keep Wonder Woman out," Barbatos said. "You're trapped!"

"Barbatos, please!" Samantha begged as the amazons closed in on her. "I did so much for you!"

"Now I have no more use of you," Barbatos said, motioning for the amazons to finish Samantha.

"No, please!" Samantha fell to her knees, begging. "Please, have mercy!"

"Nah," Barbatos said, causally. "In fact, I'm feeling particularly heartless today. Hey, Diana."

Diana looked to Barbatos.

"Why don't you and your Amazons have your fun with them," Barbatos suggested.

Diana grew a mad grin. "You heard the man, ladies!"

Nia was thrown on the ground next to Samantha, and that's when Diana and Bryce jumped in front of the two, ripping off their cloths.

_Wait, don't do this! _Nia begged.

"No, I don't want this!" Samantha cried. "I don't want this!"

Barbatos ignored their cries as Diana, Bryce, and their Amazons had their way with them. He looked down at Batman, and realized just how weak he is. Starved, tortured, and weak, he could kill him right now and end it.

"But where's the fun in that?" Barbatos asked.

"What do you mean?" Asked Batman.

"I mean, I'm letting you go," Barbatos said. "Run away, Bruce. Run so you can watch as everything and everyone you love is burned before your very eyes."

Batman looked at Barbatos, and he saw something that shook him to his core. Bruce Wayne. He saw his mask-less face under Barbatos' hood. That was it, Batman swallowed his pride, dignity, and self esteem, and ran.

* * *

Alfred jumped to his feet from the bat computer when he heard the bat mobile pull into the cave. "Master Bruce?!" He ran over to the car, relief washing over him when Batman crawled out of the car, and fell to the ground, pulling off his mask. "Thank the lord, are you alright?"

"No, Alfred." Bruce looked at his mask, and threw it to the floor. "I'm not okay...I failed..."

"Master Bruce, you need to listen to me," Alfred said, kneeling in front of Bruce. "You haven't drank or eaten in days. You've been tortured, struck, and I know that, outside of your moments of unconsciousness, never slept. You're delirious."

"I know, but I also know I can't do this," Bruce said. "Dick, Jason, Tim, Kate, Gordon, you, Mom, Dad...I failed you all."

"Master Bruce, please," Alfred begged.

"It's over, Alfred!" Bruce pushed Alfred out of his way, and stumbled over to the bat computer. He turned the computer over to the news, and watched as Barbatos and his forces ravaged Gotham. Bruce closed his eyes, and shut off the computer. "I can't fight this threat, Alfred. Barbatos is a God, he's too powerful. I'm nothing, despite all the training and learning, I'm just a man."

"You may just be a man, Bruce, but you're a man who has done extraordinary things!" Alfred walked over to Bruce, and put a hand on his shoulder. "You've fought alongside Gods and aliens, you've deafeatec Gods and aliens! You may have lost this battle, but Barbatos has not won this war! We can take back Gotham, we can save our allies, and we wil bring down Barbatos!"

"I...I don't know, Alfred," Bruce said, slipping into the chair in front of the bat computer. "Look at me, I'm nothing but skin and bone."

"You'll recover, sir," Alfred assured. "I don't know how long it will take, but I'll barricade the mansion, try my damndest to make sure nothing will interrupt your recovery!"

"I still don't know, Alfred," Bapruce said. "How...after all this...can I possibly come our victorious?"

"Why do we fall, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"Al-" Bruce began, knowing where Alfred was going.

"Why do we fall?" Alfred asked, again.

Bruce sighed, narrowed his eyes in determination, and looked Alfred in the eyes. "[So we can learn to pick ourselves up.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8-wIg90lagk)"


End file.
